The Role of Research and Development Strategies in Food safety and Good Agricultural, Manufacturing and Distribution Practices in the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry

ABSTRACT

Globalization has expanded the Malaysian palm oil export market to over 140 countries. Research and development strategies carried out by Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) continue to provide information to demonstrate proactively food safety with negligible risk in its global supply chains. By examining the factors of air, water, soil, agricultural input, raw material and human used in the production, processing and manufacturing operations, the sound knowledge of science and technology from the 209 MPOB innovations, when combined with business and application of the widely accepted rigorous and systematic method of assessing and controlling hazards through the food chain, has ensured that palm oil remains an agricultural product that is healthy and safe to the customer. Throughout the food supply chain the general principles of Hazard Analysis by Critical Control Points (HACCP) has been incorporated into food safety legislation, long before it was officially introduced, to check the hygiene requirement and to use it as a practical means of standardizing international food quality control and assurance practices. Every stage of preparation, processing, transport and distribution of palm oil palm is examined so that the final palm oil products for retailing to customers indeed are safe and nutritious. Effort made to communicate new R&D findings has been done to retain the credibility and trust of customers who will understand what lies behind such a food safety assurance scheme.

The value-add throughout the supply chain covers good agricultural practices (GAP), good manufacturing practices (GMP) and good distribution practices (GDP). Built into a database, the information gathered allows the effectiveness of the good practices in food safety management, detection of contaminants, toxicology, novel processing, packaging and application of risk management to be evaluated. The harmonization of these good practices towards standardization provides a high level of confidence to the operational entities and the customers. The auditors and assessors when benchmarked by accredited bodies that are internationally recognized the industry will attain integrity by their assessment. Knowledge that Malaysian palm oil products are produced to an agreed standard will further boost consumer's confidence by making them even more acceptable by people the world over.

Market Potential and Challenges for the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry in Facing Competition from Other Vegetable Oils

ABSTRACT

The market potential for oils and fats remains good into the future considering the increases in population, income as well as per capita consumption especially in countries with currently low income and low consumption. However, the challenges are that most of the oils are inter-substitutable and therefore in competition with each other. Thus, countries impose support measures to gain markets for their products. This paper examines the market potential and challenges of the Malaysian palm oil industry in facing competition from other vegetable oils. There exists a relationship between vegetable oil prices in the long-term and short-term because they are co-integrated. The vector error correction model (VECM) was used to distinguish the long- and short- term relationships between the vegetable oil price variables. This test determined the oils in close competition with one another as well as established the bi-directional causality between the oils. The former means that two or more oils can influence each other. In general, it was concluded that palm olein is a price leader to certain vegetable oils and the challenge lies in making it the main price leader in the vegetable oils and fats sector. This can be achieved by palm oil producing and exporting countries having their own market intelligence to confer an advantage in preparing better competing strategies.

Market Evaluation of Phosphate Fertilizers from Various Sources for Matured Oil Palm in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Fertilizers are one of the most important inputs in the production of palm oil. Their use is dependent on the price of palm oil (PO), the higher the price the more the fertilizers used. P fertilizers significantly increased fresh fruit bunches (FFB) yield and the rates to be used will depend on the costs and benefits afforded by them. This study determines the costs and benefits of utilizing various sources of phosphate fertilizers through partial budgeting and dominance analysis for gross return (GR), total variable cost (TVC), marginal rate of net return (MRNR), net return (NR) and return on investment (ROI).

Palm Oil Derived Esters - An Environmentally Safe Drilling Fluid

ABSTRACT

The rising world energy demand has led to exploration for oil and gas in increasingly difficult environments. Exploration is now extending into sensitive regions, in particular, offshore fields. Drilling in deep water in increasingly deviated and extended wells and borehole instability in challenging geological formations are some of the obstacles encountered. Oil-based drilling fluids are widely used in drilling, especially in highly technical wells. This is because oil-based drilling mud systems perform much better than water-based muds in bore hole stabilization and providing lubricity thereby give faster rates of penetration. However, they are a cause for environmental concern and with the potential long-term liability for damage caused by mud spills and problems in disposal of the oil-contaminated drill cuttings, changes are afoot. The industry has been replacing highly aromatic oils (e.g. diesel) with low aromatic mineral oils as well as synthetic oils. However, as environmental legislation and controls become more stringent, even the newer and less polluting mineral and synthetic oils in vogue now may be adjudged unsuitable because of their non-biodegradability. Indeed, today, in many parts of the world, including countries like the USA, United Kingdom, Holland, Norway, Nigeria and Australia, the use of diesel and mineral oil-based drilling fluids in offshore operations is already either severely restricted or banned because of their toxicity, persistency and bio-accumulation.In direct response to the need for a high performance and environmentally safe alternative to petroleum-based materials, common vegetable and fish oils have been tested. However, none of them as yet offers the necessary chemical stability nor rheological properties required. Many individual results were compared during the initial testing period. Notwithstanding this, after considerable research and extensive testing, a high performance and biodegradable vegetable-based ester has been produced from palm kernel oil. The ester has been produced in Malaysia since 1995 and has found widespread acceptance and applications in offshore regions where pressure from the environmental authorities has been mounting. This biodegradable ester is an alternative to petroleum-based muds. This is because petroleum muds are costly and troublesome to process for recovering and transporting the drill cuttings to the shore for treatment and disposal. The used vegetable-based esters, in contrast, can be safety discharged into the ocean without harming the eco-system.Malaysia is becoming more conscious of the need to exercise greater care in protecting its environment. Sensing the need for better control over marine pollution, the Department of Environment proposed in 1999 an amendment to the Environmental Quality (Scheduled waster) Regulations 1989 to include drilling mud or residues containing hazardous compounds (Part 1, item 35) in the list of scheduled wastes. However, incorporating it is still an ongoing and arduous process. The petroleum industry has generally been slow to respond simply because there is no regulatory requirement to do so. Although environmental friendly ester-based carrier fluids are available since the early 1990s, the additional cost is deemed unnecessary. However, the waste we leave on our seabeds will stay around for a long time and continue to impact us well into the future. Therefore, we must act immediately in order to prevent a public outcry later for our lack of serious attention and responsible action. Good practice and common sense should dictate [see USA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)] the use of best available technology at reasonable cost. The additional cost to use such system represents less than 2% of the total well cost. It also makes perfect sense to champion the use of renewable and environmentally friendly palm derived products in Southeast Asia since Malaysia is the world's largest producer of palm oil.